Nova had no plan or destination in mind, only the overwhelming instinct to keep moving. She didn’t know what hunted her, but she could feel it, a presence like a shadow at her back, always just out of sight. The hairs on her back bristled with every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig underfoot. She had no intention of finding out what it was. Whatever lurked behind her, was going to stay behind her, and that was that.
The forest became her refuge, the dense canopy above offering a fragile illusion of safety. It couldn’t, however, shield her from what she’d become. Her body was foreign, her muscles carrying her farther and faster than she intended, like they belonged to someone—or something—else. The transformation had left her with a strength that pulsed beneath her skin, restless and volatile. Her senses battered her from every direction, an unrelenting tide of information she couldn’t process. Sounds that once faded into the background, the flutter of wings, the distant rustle of leaves, now rang sharp and intrusive in her ears. Scents layered atop one another until the forest air felt suffocating, thick with the musk of damp earth, decaying wood, and distant, unfamiliar creatures. If she had thought her senses were heightened before, this was a bombardment. Explosive. Overwhelming. There was no filter, no way to shut out the constant flood of stimuli. She could hear the heartbeat of a squirrel in the underbrush and the faint trickle of water half a mile away. The forest was alive, and every sound, every scent, pressed in on her until her head throbbed.
What gnawed at her most though, was the hunger. She had hardly been getting enough to eat at home, and now it felt like she was starving. A deep, insatiable void that no amount of vegetables could satisfy. Her body craved something else. Something heavier, richer, bloodier. Her mouth watered. She tried to listen, tried to track, but the intake of information was overwhelming, and she kept scaring off everything around her. Nova was completely out of her element, and so all she could continue to do was move.
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Two days of running later, without sleep or sustenance, had left her dead on her feet. Her limbs were heavy and her mind foggy. The adrenaline that had fueled her frantic escape had begun to wane, leaving only a dull ache in its wake. She stumbled more often now, her muscles trembling with fatigue. Every step felt like wading through thick mud, but she pushed forward, refusing to stop. No matter how far she travelled or how hard she pushed herself, she couldn’t escape the feeling that she hadn’t shaken whatever was following her. She had tried to convince herself it was just paranoia at work, to no avail.
As day bled into night, the forest grew colder, the shadows stretching long and thin between the trees. Nova’s legs finally gave out, her body trembling as she collapsed near a small, trickling stream. Her reflection wavered on the water’s surface, her golden eyes glowing faintly in the fading light, thick fur tangled and matted with dirt and sweat. She stared at the creature looking back at her, unable to reconcile it with the girl she used to be. I look like some kind of monster. But who was she kidding? That’s exactly what she was. A monster who murdered the only people who ever took care of me. She could still hear her mother’s scream, could still see her father’s wide, disbelieving eyes as he crumpled to the ground. And what was she doing now? Running. Hiding. Instead of facing what she’d done, she was out here in the woods like some feral animal, too cowardly to own up to it.
With a shuddering breath, Nova let her head drop to the cold forest floor. The damp earth pressed against her muzzle, grounding her in the present for just a moment longer. I guess, she thought bitterly, if whatever’s been trailing me wants me this bad, it can go ahead and finish the job. The resignation hit harder than the fear ever had. She didn’t care anymore. Whether it was the hunger, the exhaustion, or whatever shadow stalked her through the trees, she welcomed it. She was done fighting. The fatigue that had been hounding her finally pulled her under, her thoughts blurring into the darkness.